The present invention relates to repeating firearms, and particularly to an accessory for a repeating firearm using a replaceable magazine.
In land warfare the individual infantry solider is still an important part of military operations. The effectiveness of the individual soldier depends to a large extent on the accuracy, rate of fire, and number of rounds of ammunition that each individual soldier is capable of providing. For that reason, modern infantry firearms are capable of high cyclic rates of fire and are usually equipped with magazines capable of holding dozens of cartridges. Such magazines must usually be manually released from the firearm when they have become empty, at which time a full magazine must be inserted into the firearm before firing may be continued. In order to be capable of sustained firing, an infantry soldier carries loaded spare magazines, typically held in protective pouches attached to ammunition belts. When actually engaged in combat it is common for soldiers to carry spare magazines more immediately ready for use, since removal of a loaded magazine from a cartridge belt may take an undesirably long time.
It is clumsy, however, to carry a loaded spare magazine in one's hand, since it detracts from the ability to hold the firearm securely and aim it accurately.
Previous ways to approach these problems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,484,404 and 5,636,465. In order to provide an ability to fire additional rounds quickly, spare magazine carriers disclosed in these patents allow a spare magazine to be carried alongside the receiver of a rifle, ready for immediate use.
However, with each of these devices, both the spare magazine and the active magazine are released from their respective locations simultaneously, although in certain circumstances, a rifleman would prefer to release the active magazine from the firearm without releasing the spare magazine from its spare magazine carrier.
In case of certain malfunctions of a rifle it is desirable to release an active magazine from the rifle, yet the spare magazine should be retained in a spare magazine carrier to prevent it from interfering with clearance of the malfunction. However, using the devices shown in the patents mentioned above, it would be difficult or awkward to release either magazine selectively rather than releasing both magazines simultaneously, because magazine latch mechanisms of the spare magazine carrier and the firearm are arranged to cooperate with on another. While one such known mechanism provides for separate release of a spare magazine, it makes separate release of an active magazine difficult or awkward.
The spare magazine carriers disclosed in the mentioned patents are not particularly well adapted for use by left-handed shooters without the risk of dropping the loaded spare magazine.
What is desired, then, is to provide a spare magazine carrier for use with a repeating firearm, in which a spare magazine is securely held, readily available and easily released to be inserted into the receiver of the firearm, by a user who is either right-handed or left-handed. At the same time, the spare magazine should not be released automatically from the carrier in response to release of an active magazine from operative engagement in the firearm, nor should release of the spare magazine be necessary for easy release of an active magazine from a firearm.